‘A FUN ONE’
Michael Dorman stars in TV series ‘The Secret She Keeps’
Some days, there is some sense of normalcy for Michael Dorman.
Like many others, the actor is taking each day in stride.
The New Zealand actor is busy promoting his latest role as Jack Shaughnessy in the TV series “The Secret She Keeps.”
The series is streaming on the Sundance Now app. New episodes air every Thursday.
“The Secrets She Keeps” revolves around the lives and connection between two vastly different and heavily pregnant women — Agatha, played by Laura Carmichael, a loner living just above the poverty line working as a shelf stacker, and Meghan, played by Jessica De Gouw, a glamorous influencer on the rise — who meet in a supermarket just outside Sydney.
Both women have secrets that gradually emerge as their worlds collide. Dorman stars as Meghan’s ambitious sports reporter husband.
“It was a fun one,” Dorman says of the project. “It had been a while since I’ve been home (to Australia). To be working with friends was an absolute treat.”
The series is based on the book of the same name by Michael Robotham.
Dorman hadn’t read the book before the show, which was a good move.
“I find it easier to read the script,” he says. “This was a chance for me to get back to Australia, and it was a project much darker than I had ever done before.”
Dorman was drawn to Shaughnessy’s character because of his flaws.
One of them was Shaughnessy’s feeling a little uncertain about his own life.
“There are moments in my own life where I’ve felt less than worthy,” he says. “But Jack’s problem was more about his secret. It’s starting to eat him up, and he’s not ready to release it. This is something that could cause him to lose everything. I can’t say I’ve personally done anything like that, but I can empathize with the core structure.”
The role was challenging, because Dorman had to get into some very emotional spaces on camera.
“There were days I wasn’t ready to get to those spaces,” he says. “One scene was when Jack is distraught, hasn’t slept and is looking for his lost son. He’s completely unhinged. I had to dig deep to get that to read on camera. The director helped pull it out of me.”
For decades, Dorman has continued to break through with various projects.
With the series, he’s starting to have his work recognized a lot more.
“I’m still building a career and for me, that’s been my trajectory,” he says. “I’m always working on my craft, and the only thing I know how to do is work. I put my all in each project I do, and people are paying attention.”